Fuse
by Outsane
Summary: [Zutara] A collection of drabbles ranging from bitter to sweet and back again. [55. Strength] Don't underestimate a man's strength.
1. Wonder

AN: Well, I've decided to try my hand at A:TLA drabbles, since it appears to be the new trend... hehe, just kidding. Don't bother expecting any similation of plot, logic, intelligence, or regular updates here. This is basically for any random idea that hits me. I can tell you that most of these take place in a universe where Zuko has joined the Avatar-group. Don't forget to leave some love for the review whore, eh? Enjoy:)

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**01. Wonder  
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"Why?" He cries desperately. Tears run down his cheeks as he stares hopelessly at her. "Why did it have to end like this?"

"I... hated you..." She whispers, each breath a strain as the blood rushes from her body.

"Why!" He shouts, and she smiles sadly. Her body is weak and dying, but her eyes—those vibrant, intelligent, fierce, _alive_ gold eyes—are staring straight at him.

"Mother... always... liked you best..." She murmurs. He knows she's fading.

"You were supposed to be the brilliant one! The prodigy! The ruler of the Fire Nation!" The tears are blurring his vision, and his voice is cracking as he screams at her. "You were everything I wanted to be! Why would you give it up just like that!"

"Because... I never... wanted... any of it..." Her body is broken, bones shattered and flesh burned and blood seeping from every pore, but her voice rings clear.

He hears her, but he can't understand. He screams, a long howl of unimaginable anguish and pain, of loneliness and jealousy, of loss and hopelessness. He fought long and hard but still lost everything, yet she gives it up willingly. He can't understand.

She closes her eyes and her final breath escapes her, and he's left to wonder alone.


	2. Market

AN: This was originally my third drabble, but I figured I should post something happier. This is stupid, but enjoy, eh?

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**02. Market**

Zuko growls, muttering foul swear words under his breath. He's never so much as met the boy he's cursing at the moment, but that doesn't matter.

She laughs at something the boy says, and he feels his palms heat up.

_It's a market_, he reminds himself. _She's just buying some food. She doesn't even know the guy._

So why is he so jealous?

The boy touches her hand as she laughs. He can feel the fire building up in his hands. Who did this nobody think he was, to flirt with _her_?

Finally, he stomps over to her. He stands behind her, and places his hot palms on her shoulders.

"Are you done yet?" He asks gruffly. She turns her head, slightly exasperated, then smiles at him.

"Yeah," she says. She pays the boy and says goodbye. He looks disappointed, like he's going to call out after her. But she's already walking away, and Zuko is leading her with his arm wrapped around her shoulder.

"Hey!" The boy calls. She doesn't hear, but Zuko takes the opportunity to turn around and gives the boy the nastiest death-glare he can manage. The boy jumps and turns around, terrified.

She walks on, chattering on about who-knows-what, completely oblivious. He smirks, and pulls her the tiniest bit closer.


	3. Family

AN: Hey ya'll, i'm back! And with another drabble. This was originally my second drabble, but whatever. Enjoy!

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**03. Family**

He is running through the immense red-and-gold lined halls. His breathing is heavy and there is sweat running down his face, but he can't stop.

Not until he finds him.

The Avatar—no, _Aang_, he reminds himself—is not here. He's outside, holding off the Fire Nation army. So here he is, alone, racing through a place he used to call home, though now he barely recognizes it after years of banishment.

The comet is coming. They've seen the soft, unearthly glow illuminating the horizon for days. Time is running out.

He tells himself he is ready to do this. He whispers it to himself as he runs, repeats it over and over until it becomes embedded in his mind. He can do this.

He has killed before, taken another's life without a second thought. He had to, to protect his family.

His family is no longer a scheming, back-stabbing clan of royal blood. For three long years, he suffered and fought to become a true part of that family. He realizes now, too late, that those people had been anything _but_ family.

He has found a family now. It comes in the form of an oversized bison and a lemur, a boomerang-wielding warrior, a boy with unimaginable power, and a blue-eyed girl with a soft face and a will of steel.

He stops in front of a huge, richly embellished door. He remembers this door. He touches his scar and takes a deep breath, and in his mind's eye he sees his family. With new resolve, he opens the door, prepared to fight to the death.

But he walks inside, and the Fire Lord is already on the floor in a puddle of blood.


	4. Knowledge

AN: Here's hoping to clear up the confusion of Family. This should help y'all understand, but feel free to interpret any way you want. I had a good time reading your predictions! Enjoy, and leave me some feedback, eh?

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**04. Knowledge**

He looks out the window. There isn't much to see; it's all obscured by smoke. The smell of blood is wafting in even though the battle is a hundred feet below him. It's metallic and hot and he _loves_ it. He's getting excited. He wants to fight, he wants to cut, he wants to _kill_. But knows he's already lost, so he turns away.

He listens through the door. He hears nothing, and is not surprised. The thick steel door is closed, locked and bolted shut just like his advisers told him to do. But he knows that they're dead now, and he doesn't have to listen to them anymore. He unbolts the door, just to be spiteful.

He should have done it himself. Azula failed, and he knows it. She was strong, probably stronger than he himself was. But in the end she was weak, and she let her emotions get the better of her. And now she was dead, and Zuko was still alive.

Zuko is coming, and he knows that too. That worthless, no-good piece of scum would be here in a matter of minutes, and he knows why. He's here to kill his own father. At least, that's what Zuko would say. But he's never been much of a father figure, and he's certainly never thought of Zuko as his son. He knows both these facts, and regrets neither. Emotions had always been his brother's prerogative, after all.

Through the door he hears footsteps falling fast and hard, and he knows who it is. He knows he as to do it fast.

His father didn't give him the chance, and traditions are meant to be carried on.

He clutches the dagger, and he knows what he has to do.


	5. Destination

AN: This was a spur-of-the moment one. I think I spent about 5 minutes on it. Enjoy, eh?

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**05. Destination**

The bones are cracking in the fire, and she sees.

The future is uncertain, and she knows this. The girl looks at her with her eyes full of hope, and she sighs. The girl thinks that knowing the future will help her.

She knows that nothing good comes of knowing the future. Often, you end up taking the most painful way possible to the same place. She knows this, and though she tells the fortunes of many, she never does so for herself. Wu never sees her own future, nor does she wish to.

The girl's eyes light up as she tells her the destiny foretold by the bones, and Wu wonders why. She has told the girl no names, given her no description, told her nothing of the man she will marry but that he is a powerful bender.

Time is a tricky thing. It likes to mess with your mind. The future is only predictable to a certain—vague, unplottable, indistinct —point, and past that, no one knows. Especially not her.

The girl bounces out of the room, ecstatic at her fortune. Wu sighs. What she hasn't told the girl far outweighs that which she did. She hasn't told her of the pain and fear in the future, of the violence and uncertainty and death that reside there. She hasn't told her of the flame that will engulf her heart and force her to choose between what she loves and what she knows is right.

Wu knows there are many paths to take, but they all lead to the same destination.


	6. Aphorisms

AN: Hey y'all, I'm back with another drabble. Is this what you call lime? Hehe. Anyway, this was inspired and helped by **RyuuMahou**, who is fabulous. And I think it took me longer to remember the word 'aphorism' than it did to actually write this. Heh. Enjoy, and leave a review if you love me!

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**08. Aphorisms**

They say to keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.

_He pants her name, each syllable heavy on her skin, making her painfully aware of his proximity. His breath is hot on her neck and his hands aren't far behind._

_"Katara," he whispers, his voice rough and low. He repeats it, over and over, and she swears her name becomes sweeter each time. His words drip over her like honey, thick and saccharine and too tempting to resist._

_His fingertips are as warm as his breath, and his touch sears her skin. Her hands run over every scar, every ripple of muscle, every inch of his bare skin, and he shudders. Her hands are icy, cold like the depths of the ocean._

_She's forgetting. Everything else becomes blurred by the heat, morals and conscience are burned away, and all that's left is the desire. The wanting so bad that it hurts. The lust so strong she expects it to swell around her like a wave and carry her away._

_It's like silk against wool, petals among thorns, satin on a bed of straw. So wrong, she knows, but so good. His touch is like a drug, intoxicating and addicting, leaving her yearning for more._

Licking her lips hungrily, she pulls the enemy even closer.


	7. Two of a Kind

This is for the new lj/c2 community yanocchi and I started, Zutara100. We write 100 fics about zutara with 100 themes. It's fun! Join us at our c2 (www. fanfiction. net/ c2/ 33421/3/0/1/) or our livejournal community (community.livejournal. com/zutara100 /profile). (Don't forget to remove the spaces!) Yay! Oh, and of course, don't forget to review, kiddies! XD

Prompt: #05 – Two of a Kind  
Word Count:212  
Rating: G  
Summary: They say that no two snowflakes are ever the same.  
AN: Uh, kinda out of season, huh? The heat must be getting to me.

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"Y'know," she says offhandedly, "they say that no two snowflakes are ever the same." 

He glances at her. Her bright blue eyes are trained skyward, and there's a hint of a smile playing on her lips. He says nothing.

"But I don't think that's true," she continues. "It would be too sad."

"What's sad about it?" He asks, giving her a funny look.

"They would always be alone," she tells him, like it's completely obvious. Which it probably is, to her.

"Katara, they're snowflakes. They don't get lonely."

"Says you."

Four days later, he wakes her early in the morning, shaking her softly but urgently.

"C'mon," he whispers, careful not to wake the others. "Hurry up. I have to show you something."

He grabs her hand and leads her out of the cave they've been taking shelter in for the past week. It takes her eyes a few moments to adjust to the dim light of the sunrise. He points to something on a dead leaf still stuck on a tree, making sure not to touch it. She leans closer, glancing questioningly at Zuko before it dawns on her.

"Two of a kind," she gasps. "The snowflakes, they're identical!"

He wraps an arm around her shivering frame, and they watch the snowflakes melt in the rising sun.


	8. Siblings

This one is also for Zutara100. Come join us:)

Prompt: #53 - Siblings  
Word Count:1036   
Rating: PG   
Summary:_ "Sokka, do you know why big brothers are born first?" _  
AN: Yep, stolen from Bleach. I admit it.

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_Sokka," his mother asked as they stared at his new little sister, wrapped in blue blankets and sleeping peacefully. "Do you know why big brothers are born first?"_

_He didn't know._

"_It's so he can protect the little ones that come after him."_

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Sokka is five years old, and he's cold. It's not a particularly chilly day, but it's windy, and that makes it feel all that much colder than it really is. Plus, three-year-old Katara is missing.

Which is exactly why Sokka is out looking for her, calling her name and listening for her tiny voice. They had been playing hide-and-go-seek—at least, until Sokka realized that he'd spent an hour searching for his little sister and that, since he wasn't that bad of a seeker, she had probably gotten herself lost while hiding.

He finds her two hours later, huddled up under an outcrop of ice and shivering from the cold. He can just make out the faint lines of dried-up tears on her face.

"I found you," he says softly, and she nearly tackles him in a bear hug, crying into his shirt.

"I was so scared you would never find me!" She sobs, her arms wrapped so tightly around him that he can barely breathe. "I'm so glad you found me! I was so scared!"

He strokes her hair while whispering words of comfort, waiting for her to calm down. "You're my little sister, Katara. I'll always protect you."

They return home just in time for dinner, where their mother is waiting with a warm smile and a bowl of hot soup.

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Sokka is twelve years old, and the Fire Nation is quite literally on his doorstep. The men of the village are fighting valiantly to protect their home, and the women are doing their best to get all the children as far away as they possibly can. But they're losing, and they know it. Sunrise is approaching fast, and with it a surge of power and nearly guaranteed victory for the red soldiers.

Sokka is scared, and tears are streaming out of his eyes as he and Katara are ushered away from their home by their mother. She's scared too. He can tell from her strained expression and the tight—borderline painful—grip she has on his hand.

"Faster!" She coerces with gentle urgency, tugging them foward. "We have to hurry!"

The threesome reach a small cave made of snow, the perfect camouflage in this barren land of ice. They aren't the only ones there; the village men built this hideout months ago, when they first heard of the threat of Fire Nation invasion. But even though they had known, nothing could have prepared them for the force of the enemy's army. The small Southern Water Tribe had neither the resources nor population to win against a rich navy.

His mother gives each of her children a light kiss on the forehead and a quick hug before running back towards the village, in hopes of helping somehow.

As he sits in the cave clutching his little sister's hands—hands that are cold and clammy and shaking violently from fear—he leans over and whispers in her ear.

"It's okay, Katara. I'll protect you," he tells her in a wobbly voice, scratchy from screaming and crying and fright. He realizes, absently, that his hands are shaking too. "I'll protect you."

Three days later, what is left of the village performs a mass funeral for the dead and the missing. The siblings hold each other as if they'll never let go; their mother is among the former.

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Sokka is sixteen years old, and he is standing before the prince of the Fire Nation. With a boomerang. Perhaps not the most intimidating weapon, but he manages to nearly knock the brat out with it. He has to be brave, after all. He has to protect Katara. Hell, he has to protect the whole village now that all the other men are gone. His mother would never forgive him if he didn't.

He watches as Zuko's ship leaves, Avatar onboard, and as he and his sister row off in a canoe to save the boy they've just met, Sokka has a dreadful premonition that this isn't the last they'll be seeing of that spoiled Fire Nation punk.

Sometimes, Sokka hates being right.

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Sokka is seventeen years old, and he's watching his little sister climb in the lap of that damn prince. He's currently hiding in a small gathering of shrubs and fighting the (very, very strong) urge to go rip them apart and give Zuko what's coming to him: a really big black eye to match his other red one. But he resists, for two reasons.

First, Katara would get angry. And in no way, shape, or form does Sokka want to be the target of an angry Katara. That would be suicide.

Second, she's not just his baby sister anymore. Katara is a big girl now, not the little girl who used to cling to his waist and cry when they got in fights. She's older, and stronger, and more mature. Although, in Sokka's opinion, probably not quite mature enough to be making out with a guy three years older than her from the Fire Nation.

But she loves him, and he loves her—or says he does, at any rate. He's vowed to protect her, and even though Katara had rolled her eyes and began a rant about how girls are perfectly capable of protecting themselves when he announced it, she can't hide the truth, or her happiness, from her big brother. After all, everyone needs to feel cared for once in awhile. Sokka knows this feeling well, the desire to be watched over; he feels it every night as he gazes at the moon.

"You're still my big brother," Katara tells him one day. "But you don't have to protect me anymore."

Then she smiles at him, and Aang calls her over to look at yet another strange object Momo has just tried to eat, and he's left alone with a dry mouth, an abyss of emptiness inside him, and an echo of his mother's words fading away.


	9. Poverty

Zutara100... again. I'm obsessed with it. XD

**Prompt**: #03 - Poverty  
**Word Count**: 329  
**Rating**: G  
**A/N**: So many big words... my head hurts...

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Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation has never known poverty. 

He has heard of poverty; the servants of the palace often talked about it when he was small. Many people think that children are incapable of comprehending such ideas, but then again, many people underestimate children altogether. He has heard them chat idly about the disappearance of the airbenders, the genocide of the waterbenders, the enslavement of the earthbenders. But to hear is not to know, and so he continued to live comfortably in his palace built upon the losses of others.

He has seen poverty; it grows abundantly among the other three elements. He has never seen the Air Nomads, as all but one are now extinct, but he knows that many lived as monks, impoverished until the day of their death. He has seen both the North and South Water Tribes, and while the North is beautiful—he cannot deny it, even if he wants to—the people there are still poor. He has seen the Earth Kingdom, and he knows the hardships they face daily, the harsh reality that the people there must deal with.

And now he has lived in poverty; it seems the companions of the Avatar care not about such material possessions as money. At first he is angry, his blatant refusal to understand this ideology alienating him from his new faction. Slowly, however, he comes to terms with this notion of 'being poor.' Though they have little money, they are never without what they need. Somehow there is always food when he is hungry, water when he thirsts, a warm fire when he is cold, and a fairly comfortable bed when he tired. And like this, they are happy, always smiling and laughing together.

Zuko has never adapted well to change, but as he returns a soft smile to the blue-eyed girl who always has one for him, he thinks that maybe, this time, the change won't be quite so hard.


	10. Weapon

Also for Zutara100. I've been in a writing mood, but I'm having writer's block for _Superstition_. Sorry! And remember, reviews make me happy! So make me happy!

**Prompt**: #80 - Weapon  
** Word Count**: 430  
**Rating**: G  
** A/N**: It's Zutara, I swear. And thanks to Jane for helping me out with this one!

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"Um, Aang," Sokka asked cautiously, keeping his distance from the Avatar. "What are you doing?" 

Aang stopped for a moment, catching his breath before speaking. "I'm learning how to use swords," he said, raising his two swords in the air.

"Why?" Sokka raised an eyebrow in question; Aang had never shown an interest in weapons other than bending before this, so what was going on?

To his surprise, the twelve-year-old blushed, mumbling something under his breath that Sokka couldn't hear. "I, uh, I just think that, y'know, being the Avatar and all, I should... learn to protect myself!" Aang proclaimed shakily, a guilty expression on his face.

"Uh-huh. With two swords at once. Don't you think you should try to learn with just _one_ sword first?"

"No! I have to use two!" Aang insisted, looking slightly upset. "If I don't use two, then there's no point!"

Sokka rubbed the back of his head. "Aang, did I miss something? What's so important about learning how to use _two_ swords?"

The younger boy blushed again, stabbing one sword into the ground and leaning against it. "Well," he started, looking nervous. "You remember Jet, right?"

"How could I forget?" Sokka asked incredulously. "He almost washed out a village!"

"But remember how much Katara liked him?" Aang's blush was getting worse with every word he spoke.

"Yeah," he admitted, making a face. " Before she froze him to a tree, anyway. Where are you going with this?"

"Okay, and you know how the Blue Spirit used two swords, that time he rescued Katara?" Aang felt slightly guilty upon saying this—he hadn't told Sokka and Katara that the Blue Spirit was really Zuko yet.

"She wouldn't shut up about it for days!" Sokka reminisced. Suddenly, realization dawned upon him, and his eyes grew wide. "Don't tell me you're risking killing yourself with those stupid swords just to get my sister to like you."

Aang's tomato-red blush was enough of an answer to make Sokka groan and hit himself in the forehead.

"Aang, she's not gonna like you if you're _dead_!" Sokka exclaimed, making a move towards Aang but freezing upon hearing a rustling behind him in the bushes.

"What are you two doing?" Katara asked sternly. "You should be helping me look for dinner. And Aang, don't play with swords, you'll hurt yourself." Finished with giving her motherly advice, she promptly turned around and disappeared into the foliage.

Aang sighed, looking thoroughly downtrodden, dropped the swords.

"So," Sokka began after a few moments of unconformable silence. "Where'd you get the swords?"


	11. Taste

Again with the Zutara100. I'm like, obsessed. I love it. XD

**Prompt**: #65 - Taste  
**Word Count**: 394  
**Rating**: PG  
**A/N**: I just needed to write something amusing. And sad as it is, this is probably probable. (Oh, try saying that five times fast.)

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"Zuko, what are you doing!" Katara cried in shock and horror.

He stared at her like she'd grown a third eye. "What does it _look_ like I'm doing?" He responded dryly.

"Iroh told you that you are to absolutely never, under any circumstances whatsoever, do that!" Sounding terrified, she grabbed the teapot from his hands.

As luck would have it, Iroh chose that exact moment to wander over towards the pair.

"Oooh, Katara, you made tea!" He cooed, pulling a teacup from his sleeve. Before either stunned teen can utter a word of warning, the elderly man had already poured the tea and raised the cup to his lips.

"No!" Katara tried to warn, but it was too late. Iroh had already taken a sip of the tea.

And promptly spat it back out.

"Zuko's tea, then," Iroh confirmed with a sour look on his face.

"I tried to warn you," Katara told him matter-of-factly, shaking her head in pity as she handed him her waterskin.

"A bit faster next time, please," the old man admonished, taking the skin. Unscrewing the lid, he drank deeply, swished the liquid around in his mouth, and spit it back out.

Several swish-and-spit cycles later, Iroh complained that he could still taste the sad excuse for tea in his mouth, and that he was getting a stomachache.

Zuko, for the record, thought they were overreacting. His tea wasn't _that_ bad, was it?

"I guess I'll go dump this in the river now," he said with a sigh, turning to leave.

"NO!" Iroh and Katara exclaimed in unison, causing Zuko to jump in surprise.

"That stuff might be a biohazard," the girl explained as calmly as she could. "It could kill the fish."

Rolling his eyes, Zuko continued his trip to the riverside alone.

_My tea can't be **that** bad,_ he thought to himself. Glancing around to make sure no one was nearby, he dipped his finger into the teapot and licked the liquid off the offended digit.

Twenty minutes later, Katara found him on all fours in the middle of the shallow river in what appeared to be an attempt to wash out his mouth.

Laughing, she picked up the discarded teapot off the ground and went back to camp, leaving the ill-fated prince to realize just _how_ bad his tea really was. 


	12. Sound

**Prompt**: #63 - Sound  
** Word Count**: 189  
**Rating**: PG-13, for insinuations of smex.  
** A/N**: Inspired by Jakia, pocky, and the death of Mako (RIP). Since I think they're gonna kill Iroh off too now, he's conspicuously missing from this fic. :(

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"Augh! Make it stop!" Toph cried in anguish, covering her ears in a futile attempt to block out whatever she was hearing. 

"Uh, Toph, I don't hear anything," Aang told her carefully, not wanting to anger her.

"Of course _you_ don't hear it! But I hear everything! Ahh!"

"Toph, are you okay?" Seeing how upset she was, Aang was worried. "What's wrong? What do you hear?"

"I can't tell _you!_ Then you'd be scarred for life too! Gah!" Pounding her feet on the ground, the girl moved the stone around her as noisily as she could, trying to cover up the noise. "Oh god, I _can't_ hear this!"

"Toph?" Even Sokka was concerned at this point.

"Appa! C'mon boys, we're going for a ride. In the sky, where I can't hear anything!" Moving uncannily fast for a blind girl, she grabbed Aang and Sokka by the wrist and dragged them towards the bison.

"Yip yip, Appa!" Aang said, launching the threesome into the sky. Behind him, he heard Toph sigh deeply in relief.

"Toph, what did you hear?" He asked, then paused. "And where're Katara and Zuko?"

She groaned. 


	13. Blame

**Prompt**: #73 - Blame  
**Word Count**: 357  
**Rating**: PG-13, for insinuation of smex  
**A/N**: This particular fic is the result of a comment on the previous fic, Sound, where someone asked what would happen if Sokka had Toph's abilities, and someone else responded that his head would explode. So this is crack, inspired by the lovely people over at LJ's Zutara100. XD

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Sokka groaned as he slowly began his most difficult daily chore: waking up. Open mouth, yawn, stretch, rub eyes, open eyes, close eyes, go back to sleep until Katara starts yelling, open eyes, roll out of sleeping bag, glomp breakfast, fight Momo over aforementioned breakfast, and attempt to crawl back into sleeping bag. 

He had just reached the fourth step when he realized something was terribly, terribly wrong.

It was dark. It was not time to wake up.

The trauma of this incredible revelation sent Sokka into an upright position. With his eyes wide open in shock, searching frantically for the light of the sunrise, he abruptly became aware that something else was terribly, terribly wrong.

He couldn't see.

Everything was completely dark. Which was strange, considering he fell asleep staring woefully at the full moon. The moonlight had been bright enough to see in, and it had been a cloudless night.

Reaching up to rub his confused head, he realized that yet another something was terribly, terribly wrong.

He had hair. Lots of long hair.

And now the ground was rumbling. But not so much _rumbling_ as sending a message...

And then it hit him. No sight, long hair, weird vibrations in the ground, and an inability to sleep. It could only mean one thing.

He and Toph had been abducted by aliens who had switched their bodies.

"Katara! Katara! Help!" He cried in a panic, arms flailing as he stumbled out of his sleeping bag. A vibration told him the fire was two feet to the left, and Katara's sleeping bag was seven steps dead ahead—and empty.

He paused, listening to the strange vibrations from the earth. There were animals in the trees, Aang and his own body sleeping peacefully, Katara and Zuko's empty sleeping bags, and some _very_ strange sounds were coming from the forest...

And suddenly, he could _feel_ the earth vibrating, and he could _see_ Zuko and Katara, alone in the forest, doing something terribly, terribly wrong, and...

His head exploded.

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Sokka awoke abruptly in the middle of the night, drenched in a cold sweat.

"Toph, this is all YOUR fault!" 


	14. Touch

I love the Zutara100. Love it. And sorry about this one having two author alerts, I screwed it up the first time and posted the next chapter instead. My bad. :)**  
**

**Prompt**: #66 - Touch  
**Word Count**: 204  
**Rating**: G  
**A/N**: I went and saw the Goo Goo Dolls on friday night, and they were awesome. So now I'm on a GGD kick. Fawesome. I got a cute shirt, too. XD

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Zuko moans and writhes in his sleeping bag. 

"I can't believe how stupid you were, Zuko!" Katara admonishes, placing her hand on his forehead and frowning. "You have a terrible fever!"

"Sorry," he mumbles pathetically. His face is flushed, and he's sweating profusely. His body his is shaking, his teeth are chattering, and with the blanket pulled up to his chin he looks to all the world like he's just been for a swim in the middle of the icy ocean.

She sighs defeatedly. "Uncle Iroh _told_ you not to stay in that river too long. It's just too cold for firebenders!"

Zuko groans in reply, and Katara sighs again, pulling her hand away. Zuko grabs it.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" She demands, tugging gently. He pulls her hand back towards his face and rests it on his cheek. She can feel his fever; he's burning up. Surprisingly, he smiles softly.

"Your hand... it feels good..." Zuko murmurs dreamily, closing his eyes. She smiles, sitting down beside him as he drifts into a restless slumber.

When he finally sleeps, she pulls her hand away again, and leans down to kiss him lightly on his feverish brow before exiting the tent with a grin.

**END. **


	15. Kiss

**Prompt**: #36 - Kiss  
**Word Count**: 185  
**Rating**: PG  
**A/N**: To understand this fic, you need to take yourself back to episode 15, Bato of the Water Tribe. At the end of the episode, Katara tells Aang, "Aww, that's so sweet of him. Give him a kiss for me next time we see him." I just rewatched that episode today, and thought, CRACKFIC IDEA! Because those are the best kind. XD

* * *

"...say _what_?" Zuko asked, staring at Aang as if he'd grown another head. 

Aang cleared his throat, looking nervously at the ground as he stammered, "Katara... wanted me to give you a... a kiss... for her..."

"Oh, like HELL you're kissing me!" Zuko yelled, slowly backing away.

"But... Katara..."

"Is here," she finished for him. "What's all the yelling about?"

Aang blushed. "You... you said to give Zuko... a kiss... when I saw him..."

"He is NOT kissing me!" Zuko protested, backing further away.

"No, he's not," Katara agreed lightheartedly, earning stares from both the boys. "I am!" With that, she stood on her tiptoes and puckered her lips, planting a kiss right on Zuko's lips.

"Hey!" Aang cried in dismay. "You told _me_ to do that!"

"I changed my mind," she told him casually, waving her arm as she walked back into the forest from whence she'd came. Aang sat down on the ground, looking like he was going to cry.

Zuko stood unmoving, blinking rapidly with a small but stupid grin on his face.

"...remind me why I didn't join you guys sooner?"

**END.**


	16. Rain

**Prompt:** #97 - Rain  
**Word Count:** 215  
**Rating:** G  
**Author's Notes:** Yes, I'm alive. I've had writer's block for ages now, and I haven't written anything since _Blood & Fire_. (If you haven't read it, please do; I'm secretly quite proud of it. It's a dark two-shot fic about Jet, and in my opinion, it's probably the best thing I've ever written.) So I finally got off my lazy arse and wrote something!

* * *

It doesn't rain often in the arid Fire Nation, but these days are widely regarded as unlucky. The rain turns roads to muddy bogs, sucking livestock, wagons, and the occasional person into their depths. The rain makes the air humid, transforming comfortable temperatures into muggy and unbearable heat. The rain blocks out the sun with its clouds, covering the land in a blanket of darkness and gloom. The rain soddens their clothes, and makes them heavy, makes the fabric sticks to their skin. Worst of all, the rain douses their fires, makes them powerless. 

Zuko was born on a rainy day.

- - - - -

It's raining, and she's dancing in it.

The rain plasters her hair to her head, suctions her clothes to her skin, makes rivulets of water drip down her face. She's absolutely soaking wet from head to toe, probably going to catch a cold, and positively ecstatic. Her eyes are bright, staring skyward; her mouth is open in joyous laughter, catching raindrops on her tongue. Her arms are spread like a bird's wings, spinning around in dizzying circles. She catches his eye, looking so perfectly _happy_ that he can't help but smile with her.

She grabs his hand, dragging him into her dance, and Zuko thinks that rain might not be so bad after all.

**END.**


	17. Ashes

**Prompt:** #81 - Ashes  
**Word Count:** 438  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Summary:** There is an old belief in the Water Tribes that dying in the same way as someone you love will bring you closer to that person in death.  
**Author's Notes:** Yet another fic where I burn people alive. Joy.

* * *

There is an old belief in the Water Tribes that dying in the same way as someone you love will bring you closer to that person in death. But now, there is no more Water Tribe. The war is over, and all she has left is ashes. 

Sokka is dead, stabbed in the back by a friend. Or at least, someone they had thought was a friend. It was in the middle of the night, and she awoke the next morning to a young man face-down in the bed next to hers, sheets drenched in blood. She still has the knife that killed Sokka, and has considered using it on herself more than once.

Toph is dead, shot by a Yu Yan Archer's arrow. Katara remembers it clearly, the moment that the arrow pierced her chest. She'd staggered back, clutching the arrow and ripping it out violently. Katara had treated the wound, stopped the bleeding, but it was in vain. The arrow's tip had been coated in poison, and the girl was dead within minutes. She still has the arrow, and she hasn't washed the tip; she's considered plunging through her own heart several times.

Aang is gone. Of all her friends, he is the only one whose death she did not witness. In fact, she isn't entirely sure that he's dead. But it doesn't matter, because he disappeared when they needed him most, when she needed him most, when the _world_ needed him most. He disappeared, left the world to fend for itself, and she's not sure she'll ever be able to forgive him for that. She has no keepsake of his, no instrument of death to remember him by. She considered disappearing herself, or poisoning herself, or stabbing herself, and she wondered if such a death would bring her closer to those she'd lost. But she didn't disappear, or poison herself, or stab herself; instead, she kissed Zuko until she forgot about everything except _him._

Zuko is dead now, killed in the final battle against his father. That day is a blur to her, a dizzying assault of colors and screams and death. She can, however, clearly recall the exact moment of his death. She remembers exactly what he was wearing, his dual broadswords, his fierce expression. But in the end, all the righteousness and hope in the world was not enough. He went up in flames, and all she has left is ashes.

She closes her eyes as they light the fire beneath her, flames licking at her feet. They're burning her alive, just like _him_, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

**END.**


	18. Royalty

**Prompt:** #41 - Royalty  
**Word Count:** 167  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Author's Notes:** Last night I couldn't write anything, but tonight my brain is just spurting things out left and right. Ahh, the fickle juices of creativity.

* * *

"A _princess_?" Zuko asks disbelievingly. "You were dating a _princess_?" 

"Try not to sound so surprised," Sokka tells him caustically, glaring.

"Are you _insane!_" Zuko cries, roughly shaking the other boy by the shoulders.

"Zuko, that's not ni--" Katara began.

"Have you _met_ Azula!"

"Uh, actually, Zuko, not _all_ princesses are psychotic teenage death-machines," Katara explains gently.

"Only the ones from the Fire Nation," Sokka adds helpfully. "Bad blood, I bet it is."

"Yeah," Katara agreed. "Probably comes from centuries of inbreeding or something like that."

"Inbreeding? Isn't that where you marry somebody in your own family?" Aang asked innocently.

"Yes, Aang," Katara answered.

"Gross!"

"It is, isn't it? We don't do that in the Water Tribes," Sokka states proudly. "We're much more civilized than that."

Zuko almost points out that Sokka spent the first sixteen years of his life living in a tent, but decides that it's probably not worth the effort.

That, and he's pretty sure that his mother is his father's fourth-cousin...

**END.**


	19. Dark

**Prompt:** #75 - Dark  
**Word Count:** 42  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**A/N**: Yay for references to 212, Cave of Two Lovers, but PROPS for turning it into Zutara. XD

* * *

"You know," she murmurs as she leans over him, long hair grazing his face, "I once heard that love is brightest in the dark." 

Behind her, the fire dies down and its light fades, and she kisses the smirk off his lips.

**END.**


	20. Hands

**Prompt:** #22 - Hands  
**Word Count:** 75  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**A/N:** Because Toph and Iroh are just too cool. And comments equal love. :)

* * *

One fine night in the secluded forest, Zuko and Katara heard these dreaded words: 

"Hand check!"

"I believe," Katara later commented dryly as the Avatar glared at her and her partner-in-crime, "that this is what they refer to as 'getting caught red-handed.'"

Zuko didn't reply; he was too busy staring nervously at the boomerang blade being held against his throat.

Iroh and Toph just laughed, because really, who hadn't seen this coming?

**END.**


	21. Spirits

**Prompt:** #30 - Spirits  
**Word Count:** 39  
**Rating:** PG  
**A/N:** You guys are SO special that you get a double-update. Why, you ask? Because I'm going to Alaska for the next 10 days, so I figured I'd better leave you with something extra-special. These last two are some of my favorites, so I hope you like 'em too. And I hope you tell me so by reviewing. XD

* * *

The thing about spirits, he tells her, is that there are different kinds. 

_Like what?_

There are kind spirits, and vengeful spirits, and lost spirits, he explains.

She reaches up, fingers brushing lightly against the mask. _Which are you?_

**END.**


	22. Possession

To everyone who didn't understand "Hands": apparently the 'hand check' is a Michigan thing. Basically, it entails someone screaming "hand check!" at a co-ed gathering, and every raises their hands. This is to make sure that nobody has their hands where they shouldn't be (i.e., someone else's pants). Got it:)

**Prompt:** #37 - Possession  
**Word Count:** 198  
**Rating:** PG  
**Author's Notes:** I'm on a roll tonight. I've got Ok Go and a keyboard. Don't try to stop me.

* * *

"It's from my mother," she explains patiently, fingering the necklace fondly. "It's all I have to remember her by, so it's very important to me. Understand?" 

He doesn't really, and he says so.

"Everyone has one, some sort of keepsake that reminds them of home." She stares inquisitively at him. "You know, how Sokka has his boomerang from our father, and how Aang's glider reminds him of the airbenders?"

He shakes his head. He has none.

"Zuko," she says exasperatedly. "Don't you have anything that reminds you of home?"

"I don't have a home," he reminds her, though not unkindly. She walks away frowning.

- - -

He wakes up three days later to find a small but artfully-crafted pendant in the shape of a flame, made of wood and painted red. He picks it up gingerly, inspecting it with a vague combination of amusement and affection. Noticing that the carving is attached to a cord, he slips it over his head and lets it settle comfortably on his chest.

He tucks it under his shirt, feeling the pendant brush against his skin, and smiles as he thinks that perhaps he does have something to remember home by after all.

**END.**


	23. Miniseries I: Silence

**A note to everyone who reads Superstition: NO, it is not over. YES, I am in the process of formulating the next plot arc. I think I've got most of it in my head, I just need to start writing it. And as a special spoiler for everyone who reads my drabbles AND my Big Damn Fic, I'll tell you this: Toph will be joining the Gaang in my BDF, and I'm definitely considering using the Blue Spirit at some point or another in the near future. So be on the lookout for the new chapter, okay? Thanks!  
**

**Prompt:** #46 - Silence  
**Word Count:** 104  
**Rating:** PG  
**A/N:** Takes place right after Zuko rescue's Katara. Because I'm way too cool to actually write my backstory.

* * *

She grabs his hand as he turns to leave, stopping him in his tracks. His body tenses like a frightened animal, but the grinning mask gives nothing away. 

"Who are you?"

He remains mute.

"Will I see you again?"

Nothing.

"Answer me!"

He lifts their still-joined hands, squeezing softly. She can't see his eyes, but she knows it, _feels _it, that gaze so intense it could burn a hole through her. She vaguely wonders if this is what being on fire **((beinginlove)) **feels like.

And suddenly, as silent as the grave, he's gone, and she's not sure if she got her answer or not.


	24. Miniseries I: Eyes

**Prompt:** #24 - Eyes  
**Word Count:** 229  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**A/N:** This is a follow-up to Silence, of course. XD

* * *

He can't close his eyes.The mask is lost, cracked and lying discarded on the ground next to his dropped broadswords, and he doesn't care. She's staring right at him, straight into his eyes, and he just _knows _she's reading him like an open scroll, and he can't look away.

For a moment she says nothing, and he's not sure he's ever been so scared in his life. Of what **((rejectionhorrordisgust))** he isn't sure.

"You?" She asks finally, her voice faint and her expression confused.

He wants to look away, he really does, but he just can't bring himself to rip his eyes away from hers.

"It was you?" She inquires again, her voice bolder, and he notices that she's frowning.

She takes a step towards him. He knows he should run, but her eyes are gluing him to her, and he's frozen in place as she approaches. He can't look away, he can't close his eyes, he can't move, he can't even breathe as she reaches up to caress his face.

She gently leads his face down to hers, their noses just barely touching, and she's staring into his eyes with an intensity greater than that of any flame.

"It was you," she repeats, her uncertainty as banished as his mask. He can feel her smiling as she closes the gap between their lips.

He closes his eyes.


	25. Honor

**Prompt:** #11 - Honor  
**Word Count:** 75  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Warnings:** Character death, suicide.

* * *

It takes a few minutes for it to sink in—the muddy earth, the pale crimson water of the puddles, her limp body sprawled across the ground. 

Clutching at his sword with a wild desperation, he fails to notice the blade cutting into his skin, his hands becoming slippery with blood.

He falls beside her, grasping for her hand as the world fades to black, and wonders if this is an honorable death after all.

**END.**


	26. Forgiveness

**Prompt:** #72 - Forgiveness  
**Word Count:** 381  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Warnings:** None to speak of.

* * *

He finds her curled up against a tree, her tiny body shaking from the cold. He can see that she is absolutely drenched, her hair matted to her head and dipping down her face in rivulets. It occurs to him belatedly that it might not be just water running from her eyes—who can tell in this rain? 

The approach is slow, painfully so. He wants to march up to her, hoist her up into his strong arms, and carry her back to camp. But he knows she is awake, and manhandling her is probably not the best way to handle this situation. Instead, he takes his time, carefully setting each foot down just loud enough to make a sound in the crinkling leaves, but without sounding threatening.

She does not look up, and he begins to wonder if she is really awake or not. Then he sees a small sob wrack her body, and looks away; he can't stand seeing her weak like this.

He stops, a mere foot in front of her. She still does not acknowledge him. Sighing, he resigns himself to sitting down next to her, his back against the tree and his body just barely touching hers. Still, she does not look at him.

"Katara."

Her head jerks up, as if she has just noticed his presence. Her eyes, wide in surprise and puffy from crying, meet his. Her sad cerulean eyes are still wet, and he is unsure if it is rain or tears. He reaches out a tentative finger to wipe the water off her face, and though she does not flinch or move, her eyes drop.

"I'm sorry."

"I know," she whispers, her voice just barely audible. "I know."

He wraps an arm around her, pulling her closer, and she makes no effort to stop him. After a few minutes of the silence, he is relieved to feel her stop shaking. Her head falls onto his shoulder, and he glances down affectionately at the top of her head.

It does not take long for her breathing to become steady, a predictable pattern of inhales and exhales. She is asleep, and he smiles softly at the realization. Letting his cheek rest gently on her head, he closes his eyes and succumbs to the night.

**END.**


	27. Teammates

**Prompt:** #56 - Teammates  
**Word Count:** 63  
**Rating:** PG-13

* * *

The biggest surprise comes when he pushes her out of the way. He crumples to the ground, clutching an arrow lodged in his chest. An arrow meant for _her_.

"Why?" She murmurs as the tears fall, his head in her lap as the battle rages on around them.

"Because," he whispers, blood dripping from his mouth and his eyes fluttering shut. "We're teammates."

**END.**


	28. Future

**Prompt:** #08 - Future  
**Word Count:** 54  
**Rating:** PG

* * *

Grinning like a lunatic at the young man in front of her, on his knees with hopeful eyes of molten gold, she can't help but remember that Aunt Wu _did_ say that she'd marry a powerful bender—but Katara thinks that from now on, perhaps the future is something she'd do better without knowing. 

**END.**


	29. Flower

**Prompt:** #80 - Flower  
**Word Count:** 61  
**Rating:** PG

* * *

Iroh watches him closely from the corners of his eyes, and every day he notices the little changes his nephew makes—the calmer way he talks to Katara, the faces he makes at her cooking, the arguments they get into, the comfortable conversation with his attractive new teammate—and he can't help but realize that, like a flower, Zuko is blooming. 

**END.**


	30. Attack

**Prompt:** #34 - Attack  
**Word Count:** 88  
**Rating:** PG-13

* * *

"It was an accident!" He insisted, holding his arms up in self-defense. 

"Like hell that was an accident!" She shrieked. "That was deliberate and intentional groping!"

Toph shook her head in mock shame, laughing. "Guess next time you'll be more careful about attacking whatever you hear rustling around in the bushes, eh, Zuko?"

He dodged a boomerang as the Avatar tackled him, and groaned.

_I should have known this was a bad idea_, he though sadly from under the pile-up. _Time to work on Plan B..._

**END.**_  
_


	31. Conceal

**Prompt:** #39 - Conceal  
**Word Count:** 35  
**Rating:** PG  
**Author's Notes:** Am I aware that the Blue Spirit does not have lips? Yes. Do I care? No. Deal with it.

* * *

She runs her fingers over the smooth surface of the mask, her eyes lingering on its lips. 

"This mask," she murmurs in a low voice, tracing the outline of the mouth. "What is it hiding?"

**END.**


	32. Miniseries II: Dance

**Prompt:** #48 - Dance  
**Word Count: **49  
**Rating:** PG  
**Author's Note: This is the first part of a 5-part mini-series, meant to be read together. Enjoy!**

* * *

It's a routine, she realizes. Step one-two, step three-four, twirl and—dodge the jet of flames heading straight for you. 

She isn't the girl in the gown, and he isn't the boy in the suit, and this isn't a ball. But that doesn't mean they can't dance.

**END.**


	33. Miniseries II: Music

**Prompt:** #47 - Music  
**Word Count: **80  
**Rating:** PG  
**Author's Note**: Part 2 of this mini-series. :)

* * *

He opens his eyes slowly, half-conscious and feeling absolutely miserable.

"Oh, you're awake," she says gently. "We weren't sure you were going to make it through the night, with your fever and all." She pauses, then continues in a voice he can barely hear. "I'm glad you did."

She lays a damp rag on his forehead, and smiles kindly down at him while humming a soft melody. He closes his eyes again, and loses himself in that simple song.

**END.**


	34. Miniseries II: Nurture

**Prompt:** #49 - Nurture  
**Word Count: **190  
**Rating:** PG  
**Author's Note**: Part 3 of the mini-series. Leave some love!

* * *

The first time she comes, he pushes her hands away with a fierce, proud passion.

"Don't touch me," he hisses, half in malice and half in pain. She leaves, and the pain returns.

The second time she comes, he is too feverish to move and in too much agony to do anything about it. He lies there, groaning in misery and embarrassment and anger as her healing hands and kind smile soothe the pain.

The third time she comes, he stares at the floor and says nothing. She changes the bandages on his arms and torso, treats the burns with cool water, then disappears without a word.

The fourth time she comes, the fever is back. He lies on his mat, writhing in pain and mumbling nonsense as she enters. Crying out in surprise, she rushes to his side.

"It's worse," she states worriedly. "Much worse. I have to go get more water..."

He grabs her hand as she stands, grasping at her fingers. "Don't leave!" He whispers desperately. "Please... don't leave!" He tugs harder, and her soft hands clasp his own tightly.

"I won't," she assures him. "I promise."

**END.**


	35. Miniseries II: Lies

**Prompt:** #19 - Lies  
**Word Count: **28  
**Rating:** PG  
**Author's Note**: Part 4... almost over!

* * *

"I won't," she assured him. "I promise." 

He awakes the next morning feeling decidedly healthier, but very much alone.

"Liar," he whispers to the empty air. "You promised."

**END.**


	36. Miniseries II: Beginnings

**Prompt:** #01 - Beginnings  
**Word Count: **150  
**Rating:** PG  
**Author's Note: **The final chapter of this mini-drabble. Enjoy!

* * *

"You could stay." 

He stops abruptly in his tracks, surprised. They stay this way, frozen, for a while—was it a few seconds, or was it a few hours? He can't tell.

"You could stay," she says more obstinately.

"I can't," he tells her. His voice sounds dead to his own ears. "I have to go. I have to."

He briefly wonders which one of them he's trying to convince, but quickly banishes the thought.

"But you could stay," she insists, staring up into his eyes.

He wants to look away, but there is something intimidatingly passionate in those azure eyes, something that begs him to acquiesce.

_Stay_, her eyes are urging him. _Don't leave. Stay!_

Dropping his gaze to the ground, he mumbles in a low voice.

"I... I guess I could stay, for a little while."

She grins and tackles him in the biggest hug he's ever received.

**END.**


	37. Death

**Prompt:** #62 - Death  
**Word Count:** 61  
**Rating:** PG  
**Author's Note:** Whoa, it's been awhile, eh? Sorry 'bout that. I've been seriously busy. School and life in general are just crazy right now. TGIF! And I've been just itching to write something all day, so here we go. Short but sweet, and (gasp!) there's another two coming soon! w00t! Also, the season finale? Seriously disappointing. Zuzu, we're VERY disappointed in you. ::le sigh::

* * *

Zuko watches as his father falls to the floor, eyes glazed and blood dripping from his lips, and for a single moment mourns—not for the man he has just killed, but for the father that the man could have been.

Katara holds his hand as the body burns, and together they watch the ashes float away on the ocean wind.

**END.**


	38. Dreams

**Prompt:** #43 - Dreams  
**Word Count:** 239  
**Rating:** PG-15**  
Author's Notes:** Kiddddds, leave me some love! I feel lonely over here!

* * *

The first night in Ba Sing Se, Zuko awakes in the middle of the night in a cold sweat—and in need of a cold shower. He can barely remember the dream, but he has a pretty good idea what it must have been about. 

The second night in Ba Sing Se, it happens again—and the memory is clearer. A girl with long brown hair, he remembers.

The third night he awakes to dull green sheets but recalls brilliant blue eyes, deep and pure like the ocean.

When he gasps awake on the fourth night, he knows he's in trouble. Seeing the face of your enemy in such a nice dream can never be good.

On the fifth night he wakes breathless, and holds a finger to his lips and wonders if her kisses taste like that in reality, too.

The sixth night in Ba Sing Se leaves him trembling, craving her soft touches and light breaths on his skin.

The seventh night is worse—surely no one's skin can be that soft, especially with the kind of life she leads. Of course, he remembers with a red face, the places he was touching her weren't exactly exposed to the elements very often.

If the seventh night was bad, then the eighth is the worst. He dreams of nothing and sleeps through the night, and wakes the next morning feeling unusually refreshed and healthy.

And he hates it.

**END.**


	39. Elements

**Prompt:** #68 - Elements  
**Word Count:** 175  
**Rating:** PG-15  
**Warnings:** Character death, suicide, general angst.

* * *

He watches as they push her into the sea, wrapped in cloth and furs adorned with handmade charms. He watches as she floats away, watches as her element swallows her whole, watches until there is nothing left to see, and even then watches the choppy white-tipped waves. He stays there for hours, watching the swell of the ocean, the movement of the water, the liquid grace and fluidity that she embodied so well. 

He squeezes the pendant tighter, tighter, until it crumbles under the pressure, slicing into his palm and drawing red, red blood. He drops the glass pieces to the ground and takes the dive. The last things he notices are the sting of the saltwater on his hand, the way his hot red blood stains her beautiful blue ocean, and the way the sea surrounding him feels just like Katara's arms wrapping around him.

The next morning Zuko is gone, the pendant lies broken on the earth, the moon is still in the sky, and the sunrise is the color of blood.

**END.**


	40. Miniseries III: Storm

I'll update Superstition eventually. I swear it!

**Prompt:** #70 - Storm  
**Word Count:** 152  
**Rating:** PG

* * *

He watched detachedly as the rain turned to snow, and the snow turned to hail, and the hail turned into a whirling vortex of ice and wind that stung his face and stole the breath from his chest. He was down to the most basic of survival skills now, the flames before him birthed from dampened wood and willpower. The howling wind and frosty air made it impossible to sleep, and so there he sat — cold, hungry, and alone — waiting for the storm to pass.

It must have been hours before _she_ stumbled in, weary and frozen to the bone.

"No vacancy," he said simply, waiting for her to turn back around and leave but not really expecting her to. Sure enough, she sat down on the other side of the fire and held her hands towards the fire, smiling weakly in comfort as they thawed.

Sometimes he hated always being right.

**END.**


	41. Miniseries III: Strangers

The next few drabbles are a continuation of Storm, a miniseries. Enjoy!

**Prompt:** #57 - Strangers  
**Word Count:** 210  
**Rating:** PG

* * *

"Unbelievable," he mutters to himself as he stares at the sleeping girl. He's tempted to set a corner of her parka on fire to see if she'll wake up—but thinks better of it. She'd probably be furious, and Uncle always did tell him that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Actually, he's not sure if setting a girl on fire counts as 'scorn,' but he'd just as soon not take any chances concerning Katara.

He wonders for a moment, if their situation had been reversed, if _she_ had been the one already in the cave and _he_ the one who had wandered in, would he have done the same thing? Would he have ignored her, forgotten their strife in the face of adversity? Or would he have fought her for the cave, attempted to kick her out? He thinks he knows the answer, and he doesn't much like it.

It's a wondrous thing, really, that she'd fall asleep in front of him. To leave oneself so completely vulnerable in front of an enemy is unthinkable to Zuko. But perhaps, he thinks as he lies down and closes his eyes, they aren't quite enemies after all. And just maybe, with a little time, they won't be strangers, either.

**END.**


	42. Miniseries III: Peace

Following Storm and Strangers.

**Prompt:** #83 - Peace  
**Word Count:** 302  
**Rating:** PG

* * *

"What's in there?" Zuko asks cautiously as she rummages through the pack. For a moment he's afraid she's going to ignore him again, or close the pack and leave him alone again, or maybe even pull out a weapon. Instead, she takes out two mugs, a pot, and a small loaf of bread. Without a word, she steps just outside the cave's protection and dips the pot into the two-foot high snowbank, scooping snow into it. Then, to his surprise, she thrusts the pot at him. 

"Boil this," she instructs, and he's too shocked to disobey. The fire burns in his hands, heating the metal pot until the snow melts into water, until the water begins to bubble and steam. She smiles when he brings the pot back to her, his expression unsure of what he's supposed to do next. She holds the mugs out in front of him, and he carefully pours the hot water into them, making sure not to spill any on her. She sits down besides the fire and breaks the bread in two, then pats the ground next to her, motioning for him to sit down.

She holds out a mug for him, and he takes it, still taken aback by her behavior. Not knowing what else to do, he sits down beside her. She smiles again, sips the hot water, and hands him a piece of bread. "Eat up, you're probably hungry, right? I think I've got enough food to last us until the storm ends."

He takes the bread wordlessly and bites into it. It's hard and coarse and common, but it tastes delicious after nearly a day without food. And as they sit in the cave together, sipping water and watching the blizzard outside, he wonders if this is what peace feels like.

**END.**


	43. Miniseries III: Blanket

**Prompt:** #42 - Blanket  
**Word Count:** 321  
**Rating:** PG  
**Author's Notes:** Ah, the infamous Blanket challenge. Don't worry, this isn't the last one in the miniseries, just the last one I'm writing at the moment.

* * *

"I'm sorry," she begins apologetically as night begins to fall, "but I've only got one blanket. We'll have to share."

He stares blankly at the thin blue square of fabric. It doesn't look very warm. "I'm a firebender," he tells her brusquely. "I don't need a blanket."

She frowns but nods in acknowledgment, glancing towards the dying fire. The wood is almost gone, and there's little chance of finding more in this god-forsaken hole in a rock. The cave is getting colder, and they both feel it.

Later that night, Zuko awakes to a strange noise coming from Katara's direction. It takes him a few minutes of intense listening to figure out what it is, but then it hits him like a brick: it's the chattering of her teeth. He tries to ignore it, tries to fall back asleep, but the chattering is growing louder. The fire, he notices, has burnt out; only a few smoldering cinders remain. By their dim light he can just barely make out her form, curled up on the ground, and visibly shaking.

With a sigh he stands up and lies back down beside her, his back to hers, and pulls the blanket across the two of them. She immediately snuggles closer to him, absorbing his warmth. Within a few minutes he feels her shaking stop and her chattering cease. He closes his eyes again, her hair brushing the back of his neck and her breathing soothing him to sleep, and looses himself to the darkness.

The next morning he awakes to a tiny patch of sunlight streaming in through the storm. The light softly illuminates her face, and before he knows what he's doing he brushes a stray strand of hair from her face. He stares at his hand as if it has betrayed him, and quietly moves out from under the blanket. Some things, he thinks, are better ended before they've truly begun.

**END.**


	44. Miniseries IV: Found

Sorry, I know it's been a while! But since school is out now I should have more time to work on my writing. I'm planning on a Superstition update pretty soon, so look out for it!**  
**

**Prompt:** #95 - Found  
**Word Count:** 542  
**Rating:** PG  
**Author's Notes:** This was originally meant to be a quick little Blutara drabble. Now look what it's morphed into. sigh This is part 1 of 4.

* * *

It was pure luck that she found him in the first place. That, or one too many swigs of water before bedtime. Katara liked the former better, so that was what she planned on telling him the next morning; she figured the idea that the only reason he was alive was her having to pee in the middle of the night wasn't exactly flattering and probably wouldn't make him feel any better.

To be honest, she hadn't really found him so much as stumbled over him and fell flat on her face. Grumbling furiously, she stood up and brushed herself off, marching towards her destination to relieve herself. It wasn't until she tripped over him _again_ that she realized that, _no_, that was _not_ just an overgrown root she had tripped over, and _yes,_ it _was_ breathing, so _yes_, she probably _should_ stop and see if it was humanoid or wounded or something like that.

Because she was such a caring and compassionate soul, of course.

And a good thing she was, too, because he was _heavy_. She couldn't see his face in the moonlight, but she was pretty sure he was male—mostly because he was shirtless. She couldn't see how bad his wounds were, but they must have been pretty bad, because he didn't even make a noise when she dropped him the first time. Or the second time, or the third time.

Katara figured it must have taken her about half an hour to half-carry, half-drag the poor man back to camp and lay him down on her sleeping bag. Even though she couldn't see the wounds, she could feel most of them well enough to heal them. Finally, assured that her mystery patient wasn't bleeding and that his breathing was at least fairly regular, she lapsed into a light sleep against a nearby tree.

>> >> >> >> >> >> >

She was roughly woken the next morning by Sokka's angry accusations. "Katara, can you explain _that_?"

"What?" She asked groggily, rubbing her eyes. "Oh, him. Found 'im in the woods last night. Brought 'im back."

"Are you blind? Or just plain _stupid_?" Sokka raised his hands apologetically and mumbled, "Uh, no offense, Toph."

"None taken," the blind girl answered, cracking her knuckles. Sokka swallowed nervously.

"The point is, Katara," he continued, not taking his eyes off Toph. "What are we going to do with him?"

"We could make him our slave," Toph suggested hopefully. A little _too_ hopefully, in Katara's opinion—what kind of slave was Toph suggesting, anyway? "Or we could sell him."

"Who would want _him_?" Aang asked, poking Katara's patient with a stick and conveniently blocking her view of him.

"The Fire Nation, duh," Toph answered matter-of-factly. "Of course, then they might catch us too..."

"Which would be bad," Sokka supplied helpfully. "All in favor of making him our slave, say aye. Aye!"

"Aye," Toph called cheerfully.

"Aye," Aang agreed.

Appa made a grunting sound that could have been called either way, but Sokka beat Katara to it. "Appa says aye! What say you, Katara?"

Just then, Aang moved away from the sleeping bag, and she got a clear view of exactly who she had rescued last night.

_Zuko._

"Oh, gods."

"...I'll take that as an 'aye.'"

**END.**


	45. Miniseries IV: Laughter

Whoa, are we at 50 already? That's crazy! And there's only more to come!

**Prompt:** #13 - Laughter  
**Word Count:** 277  
**Rating:** PG  
**Author's Notes:** Am I the only one who can totally see Toph as a dominatrix? Please tell me I'm not. Part 2 of 4.

* * *

"Guys, we are _not_ making Zuko our slave," Katara ordered for what felt like the hundredth time. 

"But why not?" Sokka pouted pathetically, crossing his arms and sticking out his lip.

"First off, he probably can't even cook or clean or anything," she argued. "He's a prince. He had people to do all that stuff for him." Sokka nodded understandingly—_yeah, right_—and she continued. "Second, he'd try to kill us in our sleep or send for the Fire Nation or something. He's a liability. And third, he'd never listen us. He's got more pride than that."

"We'll see about that," Toph declared, striding towards the still-sleeping prince. "Hey, princess, get up. Now. Or I'll kill you," she added, nudging him none-too-gently with her foot.

Zuko groaned, mumbled something that sounded vaguely like "But I don't wanna buy the magic squash," and then rolled over.

"Huh. Would ya look at that. Sugar Queen was right on," Toph agreed, sounding a little taken aback.

Katara glared at her, obviously miffed. "Actually, I'm almost always right, and yet you guys always seem so surprised."

>> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >

Zuko awoke later that afternoon, convinced that Katara was actually a platypus-bear trying to force-feed him a magical squash. She gave him a few moments to compose himself, trying desperately to stifle her laughter at the sheer weirdness of the situation. She managed to contain herself as he tried (unsuccessfully) to pat down his wild hair, then realized he was half-naked. Finally he looked straight at her and asked in a perplexed tone, "What are _you_ doing here?"

And then she just couldn't hold in the laughter any more.

**END.**


	46. Miniseries IV: Ends

**Prompt:** #02 - Ends  
**Word Count:** 201  
**Rating:** PG-13 (for innuendo)  
**Author's Notes:** FYI: the 'ends' referred to here are mainly Zuko's arse. Part 3 of 4.

* * *

"So how'd you get beat up that bad, anyway?" Katara asked casually, her hands moving gently over his skin. She knew he knew she was healing him, but she supposed that didn't make it any less awkward for him to be half-naked with her hands roaming all over him. "Get in a fight with a really nasty squirrel or something?"

He blushed a little, but averted his eyes and growled, "None of your business, peasant."

She knew she was supposed to be offended, but really, he just looked so awkward and uncomfortable that she couldn't help but laugh. "If you say so, tough guy. Now lie on your stomach, I want to check out your back."

"More like, 'I wanna check out your back_side_,' isn't it, Katara?" Toph whispered in her ear. Katara only jumped about two feet in the air.

"_Toph!_" She cried, breathing heavily. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" At that moment Katara was really, really glad that Toph couldn't see the blush on her face.

Toph just laughed and meandered away. "Oh, by the way," she called without looking back, "I can feel you blushing by the way your heartbeat increases."

Katara groaned. _Of course. _

**END.**


	47. Miniseries IV: Hug

**Prompt:** #35 - Hug  
**Word Count:** 370  
**Rating:** PG  
**Author's Notes:** This and Ends were originally the same drabble, but I split them up because the moods were so different. One leads right into the next. This is the last part of this miniseries. (For now.)

* * *

Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she kneeled down beside Zuko and began to inspect his back.

"Um, everything looks okay here, just a few minor scratches," she announced, standing up and clapping her hands together loudly. "You should be all healed in few days. Just be careful not to move from side to side too quickly or you might rip that one open," she finished, pointing at a new scar on his stomach.

Zuko rolled over and stood up slowly, as if he expected her to suddenly attack him. "Relax, we don't make a policy of attacking the wounded," she assured him. "It'd look bad with the whole avatar thing, y'know?"

Except he was still giving her that confused, 'I-am-a-lost-puppy-please-take-me-hope' look. "Why did you help me?"

_And that would be the question of the day, wouldn't it?_ "Well, you know, I didn't want natural causes to get rid of you before I got my shot," she laughed. He blinked, and she sighed. "Joking, joking. Geez, lighten up!"

He fidgeted a bit with his hands, then mumbled, "You guys should leave. It's not safe here."

"Oh yeah?" Katara challenged, amused. "And why is that, exactly? Because the shape you're in, you're not gonna get a whole lot of damage done before you're out cold again."

"Not me. Azula."

Katara frowned. "Where's the old man?" Zuko's gaze dropped from her knees to his own feet, and that was when she knew. "Oh, no. Zuko, I'm so sorry." And she was. She really was. "Was it Azula?" He nodded, just once, and on an impulse she took a step, closed the gap between them, and wrapped her arms around him. He didn't flinch, didn't try to push her away, just stood there stiffly, numbly. "I'm really sorry, Zuko. He seemed like a nice man."

"You guys should leave," he repeated as she pulled away, staring straight into her eyes as if trying to convey a very important message. "It's not safe for you."

"We'll leave in the morning," she promised him, placing her hands on his shoulders. "What about you?"

He shrugged.

She only hesitated slightly before suggesting, "Well, you could come with us."

**END.**


	48. Miniseries IV: Choices

**Prompt:** #93 - Choices  
**Word Count:** 415  
**Rating:** PG-13, for a swear word.  
**Author's Notes:** This is the fifth installment of that miniseries I claimed to have finished. I don't know if there will be more or not, I suppose it depends on if this creative burst continues or not.

* * *

"No. Absolutely not. We are NOT taking him with us," Sokka proclaimed adamantly. "No way." 

"Sokka, he has nowhere else to go. His only family is dead," Katara pleaded.

"Dead? Azula wasn't dead last time I checked. Or the Fire Lord." Sokka was _not_ happy about this plan, but Katara didn't care.

"Well, I like him," Toph announced. "He's fun to mess with."

"See? Toph's all for it!" Katara tried pathetically. Sokka wasn't convinced. Desperately, she turned to Aang for help. "Aang?" She whimpered, giving him her best puppy-dog eyes.

Aang took one eyeful of Katara, cleared his throat and said, "I agree with Katara." Katara gave him a dazzling smile and Aang was just glad he didn't pass out from sheer ecstasy right then and there.

(Toph hated to think what would happen if Katara flashed him sometime. The poor kid would probably go into cardiac arrest on the spot. Or possibly spontaneously combust. Which actually sounded pretty cool, or would have, if she could have seen it.)

"And that's a majority!" Katara declared triumphantly.

"But, but Momo didn't vote yet!" Sokka tried. "And neither did Appa!"

"Zuko is coming with us and that's final," Katara said in her best 'I-am-the-leader-and-what-I-say-goes-so-you-just-shut-up-before-I-kick-your-skinny-ass' voice. Sokka was cowering, and Katara smiled. "Got it?" She asked sweetly. Sokka whimpered. "Good."

Then Toph chimed in, "But I still say we make him our slave," and things just went downhill from there.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

"No."

"What did you say?"

Zuko fidgeted, then revised his answer. "No, thanks. I'd rather travel alone."

Katara took a moment to digest this, then promptly told him, "Too bad. You're coming with us."

"No."

"I already convinced everyone!" Well, except Sokka, but his vote didn't really matter anyway, right?

"Sorry."

"Zuko," she began reasonably. "If you go by yourself, you'll be alone. You'll be injured. You'll have no money, no weapons, and," --she took an appraising glance-- "very little clothing. We can fix all that."

"I said, no, thanks."

"Azula will kill you."

He shrugged.

"Well, don't say I didn't try," Katara admonished, just before she knocked him unconscious with a water whip.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

"You kidnapped me," were Zuko's first words when he woke up bright and early the next morning on the back of a flying bison.

Katara shrugged.

"That's illegal."

She laughed. "You're a wanted criminal. Get over it."

And really, Zuko couldn't argue with that.

**END.**


	49. War

**Prompt:** #82 - War  
**Word Count:** 42  
**Rating:** PG  
**Author's Notes:** Yep, it's a short one. Inspired by Remordere, who, in addition to having a wonderful sense of humor, has introduced me to a new word: recalcitrant. Go look that one up and educate yourselves.

* * *

"Stupid peasant!" 

"Jerk!"

"Water wench!"

"Hothead!"

"Recalcitrant fractious tyrant!"

"...you made those words up."

"Did not."

"Define them."

"Make me, peasant!"

"Well, your hair is weird."

Zuko sputtered, Katara laughed, and nobody could quite figure out how she'd managed to win _again_.

**END.**


	50. Strength

**This is one of my favorite pieces, not gonna lie. I really, really like how this turned out. I hope you guys do too! **

**Prompt:** #85 - Strength  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Author's Notes:** Not gonna lie, I bummed the idea for this off of some shoujo manga called "Chain of Pearls." It's not very good, so don't rush off to read it or anything. Just thought I'd give due credit. Also, I'm still working on the next 'chapter' of that last miniseries of mine, so don't think you've seen the last of it!

* * *

She laughs the first time he offers.

"I'll come with you," he suggests casually.

"Zuko," she says between giggles, "I'll be fine. Really."

"But it's dangerous for a girl to be out alone at night," he points out. "Especially in this kind of place." He motions towards the street, where drunks are meandering clumsily and abundantly, where merchants who were somewhat respectable-looking during the day are now leering lechers, where scantily-clad women are giving suggestive looks to any passerbys of the male persuasion.

It's one of their rare stays in an actual room, in an actual inn with an actual roof, not just a makeshift campsite with trees for walls and leaves to protect them from the rain. They're in an actual town, too, not in the middle of some no-name forest. A town with actual shops and bakeries and inns. It's a nice change of scenery.

And really, Katara thinks, it's no big deal. All she wants to do is go buy a loaf of bread. So what if it's the middle of the night? She can't sleep anyway, and she knows Sokka wouldn't be the only one who would appreciate a fresh meal in the morning.

"I'm just going down the street," she protests.

"Have you looked at the street?" He retorts hotly. "It's not safe."

She rolls her eyes. "Look, Zuko. I know you haven't been with us long, but last time I checked, you didn't give the orders. Now move," she commands, annoyed. She whips the door open and steps back in surprise as Zuko slams it shut, his palm pressed against it firmly. She jiggles the handle, tries to pull it open, but it doesn't budge.

"It's dangerous," he mutters again. Now Katara is angry.

"I'm a bender, Zuko," she growls, her glare and her tone icy. "And I'm strong. I can take care of myself."

In the blink of an eye, he has her pinned against the wall, her wrists held at eye level and her head spinning. She panics only slightly when she realizes that she can't loosen his grip.

He leans close and whispers, "Don't underestimate a man's strength."

Zuko's breath is hot in her ear and there's something strangely threatening in his voice, but all Katara can think about is how close his body is to hers, how she can feel the heat radiating off him, how completely helpless she is in his grip--

And then he lets her go.

"I'll come with you," he repeats, his voice husky and his eyes dark.

Katara doesn't argue.

**END.**


End file.
